News from across the College

On 11 March Stephen Collins, Group Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director at SG Hambros Bank Limited, delivered a guest lecture as part of Birmingham Business School's Distinguished Leaders Series. Stephen drew on his extensive experience to give an overview of what it takes to be an effective leader.

After the success of last year's Public Service Academy Employability Event, the Schools of Government and Society and Social Policy, in conjunction with the Public Service Academy (PSA) and the College of Social Science Careers Network, held its second employability event on 26 February 2014.

Students from the UK and around the world will have free access to some of the country's top universities thanks to FutureLearn Ltd, an entirely new company being launched by The Open University (OU). The universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Anglia, Exeter, King's College London, Lancaster, Leeds, Southampton, St Andrews and Warwick have all signed up to join FutureLearn.

Staff, students and alumni of CREES plus some specially invited guests gathered at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park for the annual conference of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) in June 2014.

I never dreamt that I would be involved in major reforms in countries as diverse as Indonesia, Slovakia and Ukraine. My time at Birmingham has been rich in opportunity and experience and rich in the friendship of likeminded colleagues both here and abroad.